Andiron assembly



Nov. 7, 1961 E. WQHILL ANDIRON ASSEMBLY Filed April 10, 1959 INVENTOR. jdfizarzd WJY&7/

Unite tate This invention relates to andirons and has for its principal objects to provide an andiron assembly in which the end frames are supported in spaced parallel relation in such fashion as to leave a wide unobstructed space between the end frames from front to back thereby making it easy to manipulate sticks of wood or other fuel placed crosswise of the frames and to facilitate removing ash and the like without having to remove the entire assembly from the fireplace; to provide an assembly in which the end frames will be held substantially rigidly in place against lateral displacement when shifting stick or logs crosswise thereof; to provide an assembly in which the fuel-supporting surfaces are so designed as to prevent the fuel from accidentally rolling forwardly off the end frames onto the apron of the hearth; to provide an assembly in which the end frames may be adjusted to whatever width is desired; to provide an assembly of basic units including a stretcher bar which may be used in combination with conventional andirons to support the same in proper spaced relation to each other; to provide an assembly of basic units which are adapted to be embellished with a variety of different ornaments conforming, for example, to the period of the furnishings or the seasons of the year, and which may be readily removed to permit cleaning without removing the entire assembly from the fireplace; and to provide an assembly of basic units which may individually be replaced, if damaged, at low cost, can be manufactured easily and inexpensively, and can be packaged compactly for shipment.

As herein illustrated, the andiron assembly comprises a pair of end frames, each having front and rear legs joined by a bar extending therebetween which is situated above the lower ends of the legs, the legs and connecting bars lying in a single plane, and a rigid stretcher bar adapted to be disposed at the rear ends of the frames and having openings at its ends for releasably receiving the lower ends of the rear legs to hold the frames upright and parallel to each other from back to front at a spacing corresponding to the distance between the openings. The stretcher bar may be made of any desired length and the spacing between the openings at its ends 7 may be varied so that, by selecting a bar of suitable length,

assemblies are available for fireplaces of different widths. The stretcher bar may also be used with conventional andiron frames for receiving the lower ends of the rear legs for holding them spaced apart, and whether used with the frames which form a part of the assembly or with conventional frames, the openings are so designed as non-rotatably to engage the rear legs thereby to pre vent lateral movement of the frames. The end frames are designed with single legs, front and back, and these and the connecting bars are integral and lie in a common plane so as to be narrow in width and to afford a maximum amount of space between them from front to rear. The several parts collectively provide a basic burning unit which is unadorned, however, the narrow front legs are designed to receive, against their front faces, ornaments of different kind. To this end, the upper extremities of the legs are tapered, and the ornaments are provided with eyes by which they may be hung on the tapered end against the front faces of the legs. In the preferred form, the end frames each have rearwardly inclined supporting bars so that sticks placed across the bars tend to gravitate rearwardly, and the rear legs have upright extensions for supporting the fuel. Optionally,

atent "ice j there is an intermediate leg at the underside of each of the connecting bars.

The invention will now be described in greater detail and by reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the andiron assembly;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of one of the end frames, showing an oranment mounted on the front leg;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the stretcher bar; I

FIG. 4 is an elevation of the stretcher bar; b FIG. 5 is a plan view of a modified form of stretcher FIG. 6 is an elevation of an ornament such as shown applied to the front leg of the end frame shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a horizontal section taken on the line 7-7 of FIG. 6; and

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a conventional andiron used in conjunction with the stretcher bar illustrated herein.

Referring to the drawings, the andiron assembly comprises a pair of end frames 10-10 and a stretcher bar 12. Each end frame 10 has a front leg 14, a rear leg 16 and a connecting bar 18, the legs front and rear having a single foot so that the legs and connecting bar lie in a common plane and are transversely comparatively narrow. The legs and connecting bar are preferably integral being a single casting. However, it is within the scope of the invention to make the legs and connecting bar as separate units and to join them together in an appropriate manner. Preferably, the connecting bar 18 slopes rearwardly from an upper part of the front leg to a lower part of the rear leg, and both the front and' rear legs have portions projecting upwardly from the connecting bar so as to retain sticks of wood or other fuel placed across the bars. If desired, an intermediate leg 20b may be formed integral with the underside of the connecting bar 1 8 so as to eliminate @any possible sag in the connecting bar under the weight of the fuel.

The stretcher bar 12 is adapted to be placed on the surface of the hearth between the end frames, with its straight edge adjacent the rear wall of the fireplace, and has toes 1919 at its ends containing openings 20-20 within which the lower ends of the rear legs 16 may be disposed so as to hold the rear ends of the end frames at a fixed distance from each other, corresponding to the distance between the openings, and to hold the end frames upright. The legs are non-circular in cross-section and the openings 20 are correspondingly shaped so that, when the legs are engaged with the openings, the end frames cannot swing laterally about the vertical axes of the rear legs and hence the frames cannot move toward or away from each other as, for example, when shifting the logs or sticks of Wood laterally. As herein shown, the legs and openings are of square cross-section. As thus constructed, the end frames are held rigidly in spaced relation without obstruction of the space between the front legs or that extending rearwardly therefrom all the way to the back legs, which makes it easier to manipulate fuel and to remove ash.

To improve the stability of the end frames, spaced lugs 22-2Z are formed integral with the stretcher bar at opposite sides of each of the openings 20 for bracing the lower portions of the legs above the openings. The lugs have spaced parallel flat surfaces for non-rotatably engaging the flat sides of the legs.

The stretcher bar 12 may be made in different lengths so that an assembly may be purchased for any size fireplace merely by stipulating the width of the fireplace and securing a stretcher bar of appropriate length. @Optionally, a single stretcher bar may be provided with one or more pairs of openings differently spaced as shown in FIG. 5. Thus, the end frames may be placed close together for short lengths of fuel and further apart for 3,007,469 Patented Nov. 7, 1 961 3 long lengths of fuel. As shown in FIG. 5, there is an outside set of openings 2020 and an inside set of openings 20a20a. In this form, there is an intermediate lug 22a between the openings 20 and 20a in'addition to the lugs 2222 at the outer sides of the openings. Optionally, the upstanding lug 22a may be omitted.

The end frames, as described above, are basic structures, plain and unadorned and as such are preferably suitable for the purpose for which they are designed, to wit, to support fuel in a fireplace for burning. However, they are adapted to be embellished with ornamental pieces. For example, ornamental pieces simulating the popular ball-type pattern may be hung on the upper ends of the front legs. Such a ball-type ornamental piece is shown in FIG. 6 as having a channel-shaped leg 24 (FIG. 7) adapted to fit over the front face of the legs 14 and a surmounting hemispherical head 26. An eye 28 is formed on the back side of the head and, by engagement with the upper tapered end of the leg, provides means for supporting the ornament in place.

It is obvious that the basic structure provides means for supporting a variety of ornaments so that the assembly can be quickly modified in appearance for various decorative purposes, thereby avoiding the need for having a number of different andirons which are costly and take up considerable storage space.

While the stretcher bar is particularly designed for use in combination with the end frames shown herein, it may be used to hold conventional andirons such as shown in FIG. 8 at a fixed lateral spacing by engagement of the rear legs of the andirons with the holes in the stretcher bar. When the stretcher bar is used with conventional andirons, it imparts certain of the characteristics of the assembly described heretofore to the conventional andirons in that it holds them at a predetermined spacing against lateral displacement or movement to or from each other, thereby preventing fuel from falling off and of holding them at different lateral spacings for different lengths of fuel.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purpose of illustration only and that this invention includes all modifications and equivalents which fall within the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

An andiron assembly comprising a pair of laterally spaced end frames therefor, each comprising a rigid connecting bar having inclined and horizontal log-supporting surfaces, supports at the ends of each bar having downwardly extending portions constituting legs which support the bar in elevation, and upwardly extending portions constituting retainer posts which hold the logs on the elevated log-supporting surfaces, and a supporting leg intermediate the ends, said horizontal and inclined surfaces extending forwardly from the post at the rear end and rearwardly from the post at the forward end respectively, and meeting rear wardly of the intermediate supporting leg, a rigid stretcher bar disposed at the rear ends of the end frames, said stretcher bar having at its ends toes containing vertically disposed openings of non-circular crosssection within which the lower ends of the legs, at the rear ends of the end frames, are disposed, and lugs at the opposite sides of the openings extending upwardly therefrom in contact with the legs for supporting the end frames in upright stable equilibrium, the rigid stretcher bar at the rear ends of the end frames constituting the sole means for holding the end frames in spaced parallel relation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 138,885 Hall May 13, 1873 365,360 Bayne et al. June 28, 1887 822,743 Leveritt June 5, 1906 979,195 Parrish Dec. 20, 1910 2,057,659 Daniel Oct. 20, 1936 2,161,194 Plym June 6, 1939 2,274,920 Covert Mar. 3, 1942 2,543,230 Dart Feb. 27, 1951 2,569,198 Schoenheit Sept. 25, 1951 2,600,753 Gilbert June 17, 1952 2,879,761 Foster et al. Mar. 31, 1959 OTHER REFERENCES Brochure, published by Superior Fireplace 00., page entitled, Protector Log Rest, Apr. 2, 1957. 

